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Does organic material in comets predate our solar system?
"If cometary organic molecules were indeed produced in interstellar space—and if they played a role in the emergence of life on our planet—might they not also have seeded life on many other planets of our galaxy?"
September 13, 2017
Our Age of Humans in a galactic context
A proposed new classification system - somewhat like the well-known Kardashev scale for classifying extraterrestrial civilizations - and a new way of thinking about human sustainability on Earth.
September 12, 2017
Thursday night was fantastic for auroras
Space weather forecasters predicted the possibility of strong geomagnetic storms, resulting in a strong display of the aurora borealis, or northern lights … and they were right!
September 8, 2017
Human antidepressants found in brains of Great Lakes fish
“Fish are receiving this cocktail of drugs 24 hours a day, and we are now finding these drugs in their brains.”
September 7, 2017
See an extra-red moon or sun this week?
If you live in the U.S. or Canada, a peculiarly red moon - or very spectacular sunrise or sunset - might be due to smoke from wildfires. Click in for images from Earth and space.
September 6, 2017
How Harvey churned up, and cooled down, Gulf waters
These maps show how the deluge of fresh rainwater and ocean mixing from hurricane Harvey combined to dramatically alter the surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
September 6, 2017
Dark for 2 years after dino-killing asteroid?
Can you imagine a sky so laden with soot that all of Earth stayed dark for 2 years? New research suggests it happened, at the end of the age of the dinosaurs.
August 31, 2017
Earliest flying mammals discovered
Two 160 million-year-old fossils discovered in China are the oldest known mammal gliders. “These Jurassic mammals are truly ‘the first in glide.’”
August 30, 2017
Floods: Not just a coastal issue
As Hurricane Harvey shows, flooding can happen wherever large storms stall and dump lots of rain. A new study finds development is increasing in flood zones far from any coast.
August 29, 2017
Hidden river once flowed under Antarctica
"Ice, by itself, is only capable of flowing at velocities of no more than tens of meters per year. That means the ice is being helped along. It’s sliding on water or mud or both."
August 25, 2017
